Mountain Lion shot by police

A mountain lion that has been roaming Silver City neighborhoods has been shot and killed by Silver City Police.

According to a news release, a Silver City Police Officer was able to locate a mountain lion east of Silver Street and north of 19th Street in the creek area at about 7 p.m. Tuesday night and shot it.

The officers believe they saw one more run off towards the north. Police will continue to patrol the area to locate the other one.

Chief Ed Reynolds said Game and Fish officers had set up some snares to try to capture it, but were unsuccessful. Reynolds said his officers, along with Grant County Sheriff’s deputies and Game and Fish officers had pushed the mountain lions out of the city limits twice, however, they returned to the area. He said mountain lions can take down a full size deer and have been known to do the same to elk.

“It would be nothing for one to take down an adult human or child,” he wrote in a post on the department’s Facebook page.

The mountain lion was close to schools and created a safety concern, which is why it was killed, Reynolds said.

“Simply put, this issue became a real public safety issue for our children and citizens living in the area,” he wrote.